Press Releases

Port of Oakland: Powering Jobs, Empowering Communities

The Port of Oakland held a news conference today launching its new jobs brochure highlighting the Port's positive economic impact – supporting 73,000+ jobs in the region and 827,000 across the nation.

Oakland, Calif. —April 5, 2012— The Port of Oakland today rolled out the key findings of an economic impact study by launching a new jobs brochure, “Powering Jobs, Empowering Communities”, which illustrates the Port’s positive economic impacts locally, regionally and nationally. The brochure features real people who hold Port-related jobs. Some of those workers were introduced at today’s news conference, where they shared their stories about the Port’s positive effect upon their families and livelihoods.

“The Port of Oakland is a jobs-creating powerhouse; and we wanted to put a human face on the over 73,000 jobs in the region that are powered by the Port,” said Port Board President Pamela Calloway. “Also, we’re not just talking about powering jobs and empowering communities, we are working every day to broaden and deepen the Port’s job creation and community empowerment efforts.”

The Port of Oakland receives no local tax dollars, but instead, generates tax revenue from its three business lines: aviation; commercial real estate; and maritime. The study by Martin Associates was based on 2010 data and collected and analyzed in 2011. The findings revealed that the Port generated over $671 million in tax revenue in 2010 and $1.5 billion in wages for 37,116 direct job holders that same year.

Nearly one in five direct jobs created by the Port is held by an Oakland resident. More than half of the Port of Oakland’s direct jobs belong to residents of Alameda County; and the Port powers over 30,000 trade-related jobs in the California Central Valley as well.

According to Port Executive Director Omar R. Benjamin, “Port business drives job creation – specifically more cargo, more passengers, more infrastructure projects, and more tenants. That’s why the Port is focused aggressively on its core businesses.” Benjamin added, “We can do more by working together; that’s why we’re asking the community and our partners across the region to join us.”

The Port of Oakland includes the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport (OAK), and 20 miles of waterfront. For every 1,000 OAK passengers, 3.3 airport jobs are sustained; for every 1,000 containers imported or exported at the seaport, 8 direct jobs are supported; and the Port’s commercial real estate powers nearly 8% of the more than 73,000 Port-related jobs in the region.

About every five years, the Port of Oakland commissions an economic impact study. It is a process by which the data is collected over a year and then analyzed the following year. The “Powering Jobs, Empowering Communities” brochure broadly highlights the key findings of the 2010 Economic Impact Report of the Port of Oakland. This study, conducted by Martin Associates, is based on the Port’s activity levels for that year, a variety of economic analysis models and surveys of those impacted by the Port of Oakland.

To download the Port’s new jobs brochure, the PowerPoint on the 2010 Economic Impact Report, the 5-year Strategic Plan, or to request a copy of the complete economic impact report please visit: www.portofoakland.com/poweringjobs.

About the Port of Oakland:
The Port of Oakland includes the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport, and 20 miles of waterfront. The Oakland seaport is the fifth busiest container port in the U.S.; Oakland International Airport is the second largest San Francisco Bay Area airport offering over 300 daily passenger and cargo flights; and the Port’s real estate includes commercial developments such as Jack London Square and hundreds of acres of public parks and conservation areas. Together, through Port operations and those of its tenants and users, the Port supports over 73,000 jobs in the region and nearly 827,000 jobs across the United States. The Port of Oakland was established in 1927 and is an independent department of the City of Oakland. Connect with the Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airportthrough Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and at portofoakland.com.